Donald Trump has formally accepted the nomination of the Republican Party to be its candidate in the US presidential election.
In a lengthy speech, Mr Trump promised to bring an end to raging international crises and restore American prestige on the world stage, claiming he could "stop wars with a telephone call".
He also described how he narrowly survived an attempt on his life, telling a captivated audience at the Republican National Convention in his first speech since the attack that he was only there "by the grace of almighty God".
"I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard on my right ear," he said during a 14-minute account.
"I said to myself, 'Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet."
When he told the Milwaukee crowd that he was "not supposed to be here," the delegates chanted back, "Yes you are!"
With photos of a bloodied Mr Trump showing on screens behind him, he praised the Secret Service agents that rushed to his side and paid tribute to the volunteer firefighter who was killed, Corey Comperatore, kissing his fire helmet.
The former president struck an unusually conciliatory tone during the speech's opening moments.
"I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America," he said, in a marked shift in tenor for the typically bellicose former president.
But he swiftly pivoted to well-worn attacks on the Biden administration, which he claimed was "destroying" the country.
He claimed without evidence that his criminal indictments were part of a Democratic conspiracy, predicted that Democratic President Joe Biden would usher in "World War Three" and described what he called an "invasion" of migrants over the US' southern border.
In the meandering remarks that followed - at 90-plus minutes the longest convention speech in history - Mr Trump abandoned the message of unity he had promised to embrace in favour of his usual mixture of bombast and grievance, repeating his false claim that Democrats stole the 2020 election.
'Stop war with a telephone call'
Mr Trump asserted, as he has throughout his political career, that only he was capable of saving the country from certain doom.
"I could stop wars with a telephone call," he said.
Mr Trump pledged to build a version of Israel's 'Iron Dome' missile defence system for the United States, ignoring the fact that the system is designed for short-range threats and would be ill-suited to defending against intercontinental missiles that are the main danger to the country.
And he suggested that Kim Jong Un - the reclusive North Korean dictator whom he met in person during his presidency, and whose country possesses a nuclear arsenal - longed to see him back in the White House.
"I get along with him, he'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me, if you want to know," Trump said.
The speech capped a four-day event during which he was greeted with adulation by a party now entirely in his thrall.
The convention's primetime program of speakers reflected the nominee's background as a reality television star: mixed martial arts executive Dana White, musician Kid Rock and pro wrestler Hulk Hogan, who fired up the crowd by tearing his top in half to reveal a sleeveless red Trump campaign shirt.
Mr Trump's entrance was befitting of a pro wrestler - a screen lifted slowly to reveal him standing in front of massive lights arranged to spell out his last name, before a projected image of the White House appeared behind him.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden was "soul searching" about whether to drop out of the race, one source said, after senior party figures, congressional allies and major donors warned him he could not win following a halting debate performance on 27 June.
Mr Trump devoted much of his speech to attacking migrants, a theme that has always animated his presidential campaigns.
"They're coming from prisons, they're coming from jails, they're coming from mental institutions and insane asylums," he said, before citing by name several Americans who were murdered by suspects in the country illegally.
Academic studies show that immigrants do not commit crime at a higher rate than native-born Americans.
The speech broke Mr Trump's own 2016 record for the longest delivered by a nominee, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
After Mr Trump concluded, his family and that of his running mate, senator JD Vance, walked onto the stage as balloons dropped from the ceiling.
His wife Melania Trump, who is rarely seen on the campaign trail, joined him on Thursday for the first time this week.
Mr Vance, 39, is widely seen as the ideological heir to Mr Trump's 'Make America Great’ movement.
"JD, you're gonna be doing this for a long time," Mr Trump said. "Enjoy the ride."
Trump tightens grip on party
Some of the eclectic group of speakers - including pundit Tucker Carlson, who received a huge ovation, and Mr Trump's son Eric - employed divisive language in denouncing the Biden administration.
The head professional at Mr Trump's Florida golf club, John Nieporte, praised Mr Trump's skills on the course and claimed the former president had won 21 club championships.
"Joe Biden? Zero," he said, evoking the surreal moment from the presidential debate when Mr Trump and Mr Biden argued over which of the two candidates had a better golf game.
With his grip on the Republican Party never tighter, Mr Trump will be in a much stronger position than in his 2017-2021 term to follow through on his agenda if he wins the election.
